Are You Ready To Choose This Weekend?

No, it’s not some veiled attempt to get you to join my cult. Honestly, this weekend presents what might be best termed a frustratingly large number of good shows. At some point, you’re going to have to choose one show over the other, and just live with your decision.

Starting tonight, there’s Mike Farris & the Roseland Rhythm Revue at Liberty Hall in Lawrence. By all accounts, this is going to knock your socks off. Farris used to front the Screaming Cheetah Wheelies, so he knows how to rock.

Also tonight is the epic Chomp Womp Soda Fest with High Diving Ponies, Burger Kingdom, Rooftop Vigilantes, Boo and Boo Too, Fortuning, Bleachbloodz, Goodwillies, Wrong Crowd, The Calamity Cubes, Spell Master, The Factory Workers, Demon Horse, Echo Of The Elms and Nonreturner at the Foundation Room. It’s the cream of the crop in terms of indie rock ’round these parts. Plus, free soda and cake!

Dutch Newman and Greg Enemy have a release for their EP Dutch Newman and Greg Enemy made an EP, wanna hear it?, which is downloadable here. If you want to hear some of the best hip-hop the area has to offer, head to the show at the Jackpot in Lawrence.

If you’re wanting to indulge some tastes you haven’t delved into since since high school, Mustard Plug is playing the Riot Room with Bent Left and the Akanes. Ska-punk and pop-punk, guaranteed to make you feel like you’re 18 again—except this time, you can get drunk and not have to explain it to your parents. Plus, Mustard Plug’s been covering Fugazi‘s “Waiting Room” lately, and hearing a jittery ska version of that is worth the price of admittance. Bent Left’s recently released a new EP entitled USS Awesome, so you have new tunes to hear from them, too.

MP3: Mustard Plug, “The Freshman” (Verve Pipe cover)

Lastly, The Von Bondies are at the Bottleneck. They’re worth seeing, as their live act proves they can be more than just “C’Mon, C’Mon” (although, really, that song is friggin’ monster).

Saturday’s after the jump, and it doesn’t get any easier. If anything, it’s a bit tougher.